Bush's new neighbor is another anti-war mom

California radio host buys Camp Casey from peace activist Sheehan

Bree Walker, left, walks with Cindy Sheehan, right, at Camp Casey, Friday in Crawford. Walker purchased the land from Cindy after she put it up for sale.

Bree Walker, left, walks with Cindy Sheehan, right, at Camp Casey, Friday in Crawford. Walker purchased the land from Cindy after she put it up for sale.

Photo: Jerry Larson, For The Chronicle

Photo: Jerry Larson, For The Chronicle

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Bree Walker, left, walks with Cindy Sheehan, right, at Camp Casey, Friday in Crawford. Walker purchased the land from Cindy after she put it up for sale.

Bree Walker, left, walks with Cindy Sheehan, right, at Camp Casey, Friday in Crawford. Walker purchased the land from Cindy after she put it up for sale.

Photo: Jerry Larson, For The Chronicle

Bush's new neighbor is another anti-war mom

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CRAWFORD — President Bush's newest part-time Texas neighbor is a glamorous California radio talk-show host who's smart, sassy — and no fan of the nation's top officeholder.

Anti-war activist Bree Walker became the new owner this week of Camp Casey, the five-acre patch of land near Bush's ranch that has become a gathering place for peace activists the world over.

Walker, 54, who once worked as a news anchor in New York and San Diego, knows full well she overpaid for the roadside property she purchased from Cindy Sheehan, the even better-known California activist mom. But touring the muddy land for the first time Friday, Walker showed no sign of buyer's remorse.

"It's hallowed ground," Walker said, referring to the tiny white crosses near the entrance that are a memorial to fallen U.S. service members and to Camp Casey's role in building opposition to the war in Iraq.

So how did a woman who doesn't like to travel end up forking over $87,000 for a patch of land bereft of a single building 1,150 miles from her San Diego-area home?

She heard Sheehan, who announced in May she was retiring from the movement, was putting it up for sale. Walker said she got "literally sick to my stomach" at the thought that it might fall into the hands of Bush supporters.

Contrary advice

Against the advice of nearly everyone she knew, Walker found Sheehan's number and offered her her asking price — site unseen.

It didn't feel right, Walker said, to quibble with a mother who bought the land a year earlier with $52,000 in insurance money the government left her following the 2004 death of her son, Casey, a U.S. Army specialist, in Iraq.

The two middle-aged California moms — Sheehan has three surviving adult children, Walker has two — appeared to be fast friends as they trudged through the mud Friday, touring the property arm in arm. Today in a ceremony, Sheehan will formally turn over to Walker the property's deed.

On Sunday, Sheehan will hold a rummage sale of camping gear and other mementos of her two years at Camp Casey to help fund a protest trip to New York.

The question is: Will Walker, a self-described in-your-face progressive radio talk-show host, be any less disliked in Bush's conservative hometown than was the outspoken, in-your-face Sheehan, who recently met with Venezuelan leftist President Hugo Chavez?

"No. That won't happen," said Jann Featherston, 52, as she and her husband, Tim, finished an early dinner at Spanos Coffee Station, Crawford's lone restaurant. "This is a very conservative community."

She called Sheehan "a disgrace" and said she didn't hold out much hope that the new owner would be different in temperament or conviction.

"Earned or unearned, (Cindy Sheehan) was seen as a lightning rod," acknowledged Barbara Cummings, a frequent Camp Casey visitor. "Hopefully, Bree will start over with a clean slate."

Make peace with the locals

Walker, who said she's unsure how much time she'll spend at Camp Casey, said she hopes to make peace with the locals. She plans to ride her road bike around town, and may even begin eating at Spanos.

She intends to keep Camp Casey pretty much as it is: a welcoming place for anti-war protesters, veterans and active duty U.S. military personnel, even after the president leaves office.

She'd like to expand the memorial site, make it more permanent, and open a shelter for homeless vets and a walk-in clinic to treat soldiers and veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorders.

Sheehan, who turns 50 on Tuesday and will mark the occasion today with a birthday bash, said her so-called retirement from politics was short-lived.

She said five weeks of rest have done wonders for her and she is ready to throw herself into humanitarian work, with an anti-war twist.